I think that the interface looks a bit dated, but it works well: you send people books you have that you don’t want, and other people send you books that you want but you don’t have. I used to use BookMooch a lot from around 2006 to 2010, but when I moved outside of the USA in 2010 I stopped using it. One thing I like is that it feels very organic and non-corporate: it doesn’t cost a monthly membership, there are no fees for sending and receiving books,[1] and it isn’t full of superfluous functions. There is a pretty simple system to prevent people from abusing the system, which is basically just transparency and having a “give:mooch ratio” visible. Although it is registered as a for-profit corporation, John Buckman runs it without trying to maximize profits. BookMooch earns a bit of money by using Amazon affiliate fees if people want to buy a book immediately rather than mooch the mooch the book, but the site doesn’t have advertisements or any other revenue.[2]
I love this, and it makes me think about creating value in the world. In my mind, this is kind of the ideal of a startup: you have an idea and you implement it, literally making value out of nothing. There really was an unrealized “market” for second-hand books, but there was no way to “liberate” it. And I also love that this is simply providing a service to the world. I wonder what similar yet-to-be-realized ventures there are that would create more impact than merely the joy of getting a book you want.
Now that I am in the USA again I think I’ll start using BookMooch again. I probably won’t use it as much as I used to, with how I’ve become more adapted to reading PDFs and EPUBs and listening to audiobooks, but I’ll use it some for books that I haven’t been able to get digital copies of.
I had an anarchist streak when I was younger, and the fact that this corporation lacks so many of the trappings of standard extractive capitalism is emotionally quite appealing. If a bunch of hippies had created silicon valley instead of venture capitalists, maybe the big tech firm would look more like this.
I was recently reminded about BookMooch, and read a short interview with the creator, John Buckman.
I think that the interface looks a bit dated, but it works well: you send people books you have that you don’t want, and other people send you books that you want but you don’t have. I used to use BookMooch a lot from around 2006 to 2010, but when I moved outside of the USA in 2010 I stopped using it. One thing I like is that it feels very organic and non-corporate: it doesn’t cost a monthly membership, there are no fees for sending and receiving books,[1] and it isn’t full of superfluous functions. There is a pretty simple system to prevent people from abusing the system, which is basically just transparency and having a “give:mooch ratio” visible. Although it is registered as a for-profit corporation, John Buckman runs it without trying to maximize profits. BookMooch earns a bit of money by using Amazon affiliate fees if people want to buy a book immediately rather than mooch the mooch the book, but the site doesn’t have advertisements or any other revenue.[2]
I love this, and it makes me think about creating value in the world. In my mind, this is kind of the ideal of a startup: you have an idea and you implement it, literally making value out of nothing. There really was an unrealized “market” for second-hand books, but there was no way to “liberate” it. And I also love that this is simply providing a service to the world. I wonder what similar yet-to-be-realized ventures there are that would create more impact than merely the joy of getting a book you want.
Now that I am in the USA again I think I’ll start using BookMooch again. I probably won’t use it as much as I used to, with how I’ve become more adapted to reading PDFs and EPUBs and listening to audiobooks, but I’ll use it some for books that I haven’t been able to get digital copies of.
You need to pay the post office to send the book, but what I mean is that BookMooch doesn’t charge any fees.
I had an anarchist streak when I was younger, and the fact that this corporation lacks so many of the trappings of standard extractive capitalism is emotionally quite appealing. If a bunch of hippies had created silicon valley instead of venture capitalists, maybe the big tech firm would look more like this.